Lawmakers Seek To Speed Death Warrant Bill Vote

February 18, 1994|by MEGAN O'MATZ, The Morning Call

A bipartisan group of state legislators called for action yesterday on a bill they say is bogged down in committee because the chairman does not support establishing a time frame in which governors must sign death warrants for convicted criminals.

Five House members and the Dauphin County district attorney urged House Judiciary Chairman Thomas R. Caltagirone to schedule a vote on the bill sponsored by Rep. Michael P. McGeehan, D-173rd District.

The bill, which was introduced in October, requires the governor to sign death warrants within 60 days after receiving notice from the state Supreme Court that the sentence would be upheld.

McGeehan and the others believe they have enough support in the committee to move the bill to the floor of the House for a vote. Caltagirone, however, so far has refused to place the bill on the committee's calendar.

McGeehan charged that the bill has languished in committee because it's a controversial issue. "No one wants to deal with the subject," he said.

Caltagirone was at a meeting in Philadelphia yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

The bill is one of several avenues proponents of capital punishment are taking to call attention to the lengthy delays in carrying out the death penalty in Pennsylvania. No one has been executed in the state since 1962.

Most recently, Commonwealth Court heard arguments in a suit brought by Northampton County District Attorney John M. Morganelli against Gov. Robert P. Casey for his failure to sign death warrants for condemned killers Martin D. Appel and Josoph Henry.

Appel was convicted of murdering three bank tellers during a robbery in Allen Township in June 1986. He has said he wants to die.

Henry was convicted of raping and killing fellow Lehigh University student Jeanne Ann Cleary in her dorm room in April 1986.

A lawyer for Casey argued in court earlier this month that it's the governor's right -- and duty -- to review each case and decide which death warrants to sign and when to sign them.

Appel's case was sent to Casey in 1988 and Henry's in 1990.

Morganelli, who could not attend yesterday's news conference because he was meeting on another subject with Vice President Al Gore in Washington, has said Casey's failure to sign the warrants basically nullifies Pennsylvania's death penalty.

Standing in for the district attorney yesterday, Rep. T.J. Rooney, D-133rd District, said: "As Mr. Morganelli has said, it's a travesty that the governor should be able to substitute his judgment for that of the court. Justice comes to a screeching halt when this is allowed."

Casey spokesman John Taylor, however, said the governor supports Pennsylvania's law and has signed 15 death warrants since taking office. All have been stayed by various state and federal courts.

The delay in carrying out executions, Taylor suggested, could be attributed to the "endless appeals" that can drag on for 10 to 20 years.

"I don't think the governor should be made the heavy in a process that maybe should be looked at."

Indeed, the backers of the McGeehan bill acknowledged that the appeal process is lengthy. But, they said, the governor's reluctance to sign the death warrants only adds to the delay because the final round of court challenges cannot proceed until he signs the warrants.

"With violent crime on the rise, Pennsylvania needs to send a strong message to murderers that we mean business, and, if convicted, they could face the death penalty," said Rep. Ronald S. Marsico, R-105th District.

"Unfortunately, since no one on death row has been executed since Elmo Smith in 1962, many view our death penalty as a joke."

Dauphin County District Attorney John Cherry, a Republican, pointed to the delay in executing Keith Zettlemoyer, who was convicted of slaying of a Commonwealth witness in 1980.

After exhausting all his appeals in 1991, Zettlemoyer's case was sent to Casey, who has yet to sign his death warrant.